“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.”
– Isaiah 59:1-2

God is always present and He always hears the prayers of His people. Nonetheless, many believers go through seasons when God feels distant and it seems like prayers are simply bouncing off the ceiling. There can be many reasons for this, often quite important, including the long-term strengthening and refining of our faith.

Nonetheless, when God seems distant, we must examine ourselves, our hearts, our words, and our actions. Is there some sin in our lives that we need to recognize as sin, utterly reject, and confess to the Lord? Is there some failure to obey the clear will and direction of God? Is there something we won’t let go of that God’s Word commands us to let go of? Is there something God told us to do that we’ve been afraid or reluctant to do? All of that is rebellion against God. It’s sin and God is quite clear that He won’t honor our prayers when we have unconfessed sin separating us from Him.

When it seems that we’re in the spiritual desert, we must spend time reflecting on whether we’ve entered it by our own choice! Sometimes that’s obvious, but sometimes we’re profoundly blind to our own sins. Pray for God to reveal them to you – that’s a prayer He’ll answer readily. If sin is revealed, then repent and trust that in Christ, God is always ready to forgive you and embrace you warmly when you turn to Him and ask His forgiveness!

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” – Ephesians 2:4-5

Talk about good news!!! God is rich in mercy! God’s wondrous, sacrificial love for us is sweeping in breadth and depth! His love and mercy are so vast that even when we were utterly dead in our sins, trespasses, and rebellion against Him, God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

Christ died and rose from the dead and through faith in Him, we too are raised to life! Through God’s gift of grace–the grace we don’t deserve and can’t earn–our sins are forgiven and we’re made new and alive in Christ when we believe in Him. We are alive and together with Christ Himself – what a glorious reality!

Do you believe in Jesus? Have you embraced God’s mercy and accepted His grace? Are you living in God’s love? Are you alive in Christ or do you still remain dead in your sins?

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” – Ephesians 1:13

Just like that, when you believe in Jesus, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit! It happens the moment you believe and it cannot be undone. So, what on earth does it mean?

Here you must picture the old-time wax seals placed on documents to prove the authenticity of the document and its ownership. As believers in Jesus Christ, God seals us with His Holy Spirit as proof that we are authentic and truly His children.

The presence of the Holy Spirit living within us does many wonderful and powerful things. However, the most basic is to seal us, marking us as belonging to God and being “in Christ”. This seal marks us “holy to the Lord”, just as the ancient Jewish high priests used to wear on their heads when they stood before the Lord.

If you’re a Christian, you are holy to the Lord, adopted by God, in Christ, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is a glorious reality, one guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a proof of authenticity that cannot be ignored by dark spiritual forces or undone by the world. Brother or sister, you are sealed – believe it and live like it!!!

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” – Galatians 6:1

If you’re a Christian, Paul is talking to you! How do we know? Because he addressed this verse to brothers (and sisters), which means fellow believers in Jesus. All of them. “But wait a minute” you exclaim, “I’m not spiritual! He’s clearly talking about the pastors or possibly a deacon!” Wrong!!!

Every Christian is indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit. He makes every Christian “spiritual”. Paul is talking to you! There’s no place for, “You do you, I do me” in Christian life. Far from it! Life as a follower of Jesus includes this call to get involved when we see a fellow believer involved in sin.

If your believing friend or relative is involved in something he or she shouldn’t, you’re called to get involved! You’re called to offer gospel hope and forgiveness as you gently restore him or her to holiness. You’re called to lovingly point out the sinful behaviors, the places they shouldn’t be going, the things they shouldn’t be looking at or doing, and the words they shouldn’t be saying, posting, sharing, or tweeting.

You must be honest. You must be direct. You must be loving. You must be working not out of self-righteousness, but from a humble desire to bring them back into line with Jesus. You must be careful that you don’t get caught up in whatever they’re doing. You must be prayerful. You must be Christlike. Brother or sister, it’s your job!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

These verses describe the characteristics that should be displayed more and more in the life of every true follower of Jesus. The Fruit of the Spirit (it’s singular – fruit NOT fruits – a package deal) is the product of God’s Holy Spirit living and working within each Christian. As we pursue Christ and grow in Him, His perfect and holy character: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control should increasingly describe us.

While we won’t be perfect this side of heaven, the Christian life should be one of ongoing change, growth, and transformation to become like our Savior. Because this fruit is singular, we shouldn’t just see one or two of these after many years, we should see all of them gradually coming into focus in each Christian’s life. We don’t get to pick and choose just the ones we like. We don’t get to reject the ones we don’t like. We don’t get to declare that certain of these just aren’t going to happen. Not if we’re actual Christians saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus!!!

What does it mean if you believe you’re a Christian, but your character is defined more by hate, dissatisfaction, conflict, impatience, cruelty, sinfulness, untrustworthiness, harshness, or impulsivity? It means you need to get on your knees and pray!!!

A life that doesn’t exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit may reveal you aren’t a Christian at all. You need to immediately consider whether you truly have accepted God’s free gift of salvation by believing and yielding your life to Jesus Christ. Such a life may also mean that you’re a Christian, but you desperately need to get serious about following Jesus. Many believers fall into this category. You may need to truly submit to Christ’s Lordship and devote more time each day and week to worshiping Him, loving Him, studying Him, praying to Him, thinking about Him, spending time with His people, serving Him, and sharing Him.

May the Fruit of the Spirit be yours in growing abundance!